Being in Vietnam for the first time made me constantly think about my dad. As we pulled into the country through the Saigon river, the reality hit me that I was visiting the soil of a country once torn by war that my father inhabited for six years. The visual images were striking... banana tree forests, a lone fisherman in muddy watered rivers, and vast fields of rice crop with the intermittent rice hat of a farmer.

Time here made me realize how much I didn't know and haven't asked about not only the history of the war, but also my dad's experiences living in this very unique country for so long. Interestingly enough, my dad just came back last October to visit for the first time in about 35 years...I wish we could have done it together.

SAIGON- Sunday
Since India, I have really been wrestling with HOW I have been traveling and how different it has felt in Asian countries. I decided to walk through Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) with Luke, Melanie, and their two little girls Abbi and Lilly. Luke and Mel sailed with Nancy in 2004 and knew of a cafe in town where some of their friends had been involved with some ministry. It was fascinating traveling with kids (especially white ones) in the city as I watched hundreds of people on the streets stare and smile...especially at abbi's blonde curls. I split off and wandered the streets on my own. I stopped in for mass at a huge church, walked through the ben tanh markets, and grabbed some tasty food before returning to the ship for duty. Saigon can be a bit of an overwhelming city with overcrowded streets of motorbikes and bikers. I loved the sense of community on the streets, at the small plastic tables on the sidewalks, and even in the church I visited.

DALAT- Monday-Tuesday
Perhaps in attempt to escape feeling too touristy, I decided to travel with one Asian student to keep it small and seemingly "less American". Alice, a Chinese Vietnamese woman from California had recently visited Vietnam and we first headed to an unexplored city of Dalat in the "central highlands" of Vietnam. During our 7 hour bus ride we got to see a lot of the country. I didn't realize how passionate Alice was about food, but I soon learned as we explored three cities looking for certain types of Vietnamese foods which was a lot of fun. We stayed in Dalat for two nights and by the end had become well acquainted with the local market, visited a thac hang cop (tiger falls), and checked out the botanical gardens. Dalat, located in the mountains, was freaking chilly! It had been a long time since I felt cool weather. The rolling hills and mountains offered us a different side of Vietnam. There were very few white people/ "westerners" come to think about it and Alice and I seemed to blend relatively easily.

NHA TRANG- Wednesday-Thursday
We headed to the beach city of Nha Trang via a 6 hour bus to enjoy some time at the beach and for Alice to visit yet another new city (also highly recommended by Jaymin). I wouldn't have minded a couple more days in Nha Trang so we could have done a island boat tour, some snorkeling, and see more of the city. But, we made the most of our one night there and hit up some local restaurants (more like street establishments), spent time at the beach, and walked around town. We decided to catch the 5:30 sunrise over the ocean before heading to the airport to catch our flight back to Saigon. I spoke to my parents on Skype and it was great to talk to my pops a little about each of these cities...it just made me think more about his time here.

SAIGON pt II- Thursday
Upon our return to Saigon Alice and I split up after lunch and went to each of our individual agenda items during our last several hours in the country. The most important item for me was to visit the War Remnants museum in the city. It was essentially a huge collection of artifacts, primarily pictures from the war. Some of the images made me cry, just about all of them made me think. I would liked to have tried to find the town my Dad lived in (Long Binh) if time permitted despite him assuring me that there wasn't much to see. Nevertheless, being on that very same soil made me think. As I was having lunch and refused a disabled beggar money, it took me some time to realize that his serious bodily deformations were most likely results of the war, perhaps a victim of agent orange or other chemical warfare.

Overall, Vietnam was a beautiful yet a very challenging country. To visit the sight where so much destruction took place and where remnants still remain was sobering. I didn't get to visit Halong Bay or even the mekong delta, but no regrets. It was a lot of fun traveling with Alice and hearing more about each other's multi-ethnic Asian identities and life stories. She's one of those people that just seem to have many parallels to you in life. Her one lone older sister also previously sailed with SAS. Looks like I'll just have to come back make my way through the country north to South =)